For some reason, Sha Wujing followed the voice.
The moonlight was bright.
Yet he saw no one along the way-the novices on duty and the monks on night patrol had all vanished without a trace.
The voice kept leading him onward, neither hurried nor slow, like an invisible thread drawing him forward.
The main Buddha hall stood before him.
Its doors were ajar, and darkness filled the interior.
Sha Wujing stood before the doors for a moment.
He did not feel afraid.
He only felt that something was strange.
But he could not say what.
He pushed open the doors.
A pale mist seeped out from somewhere, flowing slowly through the empty hall and blurring the outlines of the Buddha statues.
The everlasting lamps still burned, but their flames could not pierce the mist, spreading only into patches of dim yellow light.
"I'm here!"
A muffled voice rang out clearly, carrying a hint of urgency.
Sha Wujing looked toward the sound.
The voice had actually come from the stone bodhisattva statue.
Sha Wujing immediately grew anxious, thinking someone was trapped inside the bodhisattva statue, and hurriedly asked:
"Who are you? How did you get trapped inside this bodhisattva statue? Don't be afraid! I'll get you out!"
Before he had finished speaking, he channeled his energy into his arm, raised his fist high, and swung it at the stone statue!
"Wait! Wait! Wait!"
The muffled voice suddenly rose, tinged with panic:
"I am this stone bodhisattva! Don't hit me! Don't hit me!"
Sha Wujing's fist stopped in midair.
He frowned and stared at the stone statue. After a moment, he demanded, "You monster, how dare you impersonate a bodhisattva?"
"When did I ever say I was a bodhisattva?"
The voice sounded utterly aggrieved as it muttered:
"I'm just a stone. They're